In your honest opinion who gets the head coaching job?
KQ- Brent Key
To your knowledge Was Dan Mullen interviewed or at least reached out to, to see if he was interested? What are some other names that were interviewed or contacted besides Chadwell and key
KQ- Dan Mullen no, he has a reputation as being a lazy coach and that is why he really got fired from Florida per people in the business. You can skate at Miss State with that, but not at UF. You can't be lazy at Georgia Tech.
Before Collins was hired who else was interviewed and contacted?
KQ- You can dig through the site archives to find that stuff. I actually have trouble even remembering the exact search process other than Bill O'Brien turning down a chance to even talk about the job and then Stansburgy going full steam on trying to hire his buddy Ken Wisenhunt. He did not actually interview many people.
How do you assess the Marquette game? Are we really this bad? I had some hope for this season, in spite of all the Analysts ranking us bottom of the ACC. After watching the last couple of games against higher quality teams, I'm beginning to think the Analysts may be correct - this team could make for yet another disappointing season... If so, is CJP on the hot seat assuming a losing ACC record?
KQ- I think early in the season you are seeing all types of odd results and you don't really have an idea about your team until early January. This is a very different team than in 2021-22 and guys are going to emerge like you are starting to see with Ja'von Franklin for example that will be bigger players than expected and you still have some young guys pressing like Deivon Smith and Jalon Moore who are more talented than fully developed at the moment. Give them some time.
Who do you think CPJ would like Tech to hire, between Chadwell and Key, and why?
KQ- I think he would prefer Chadwell because he likes seeing elements of his offense in what he does. I know he is fine with Key, but I think personally he would enjoy watching Chadwell more.
With talk of Brent Key’s relationship with Pruitt, I got to wondering - how true were some of the rumors about him? Heard everything from chasing coeds at FSU to almost beating up Richt to wearing out his welcome with Saban by being such a jerk. Any truth to it, or just a hard nosed coach getting things taken out of proportion?
If they are true, does your insistence that key would do anything to win indicate we could see more questionable decisions made with character and ethics than we’re used to on the flats?
KQ- I have no idea, I have probably talking to Pruitt once in my life. He follows me on twitter, but that is the extent of our relationship. I know there was drama at UGA, but honestly I deal with my own stuff and I would only dig into that if he was going to be hired which he isn't right now. I know he can coach too and a lot of guys who can coach can't keep other things in their life together and maybe he is one of them. It is a real pressure cooker being in that business and some people don't handle it well.
Do you see any noticeable improvement over CJPs tenure in the tempo and or flow offensively? It seems outside Jose driving things the offense is consistently sluggish. This coupled with bad shooting (and free throw shooting) seem like a recurring theme. Is it just a philosophy and focus that always going to be skewed towards defense?
KQ- Pastner has always been knocked a little for his half-court offense going all the way back to Memphis. The core of what they've run at GT came from Tavaras Hardy who is the head coach at Loyla right now. I think they've really struggled to find someone that works for whatever reason, but I also see that with other programs as well. It is not exclusive to GT. I watched Georgia State really struggle with it when they played them and Marquette.
The clock management issues in the UNC game were extremely noticeable as Tech tried to grind out the win. The team was routinely snapping the ball with 20+ seconds on the playclock. In one instance, they ran the ball on 3rd down before a player got injured. Upon the player leaving the field, the clock started rolling again but we again snapped the ball with 20 seconds on the playclock, negating the run on 3rd down. What will it take to get coaches to learn how to manage the clock and/or have someone else manage it during “key” situations?
KQ- That is part of the issue with no huddle IMO and not having a really game-tested veteran QB who is in total control of the game. You have guys who the staff didn't even expect to play much running the offense and a lot of stuff going on plus a first-time HC. I think there are going to be growing pains.
Kelly Quinlan or Russell Johnson get hired as GT head coach. Throw Key and Chadwell context out the window for a moment. You're given an above-ACC-average pot for staff hires. Who do you call first? Who do you try to keep? Who do you make say no? What's your semi-realistic dream staff? Who are your budget-friendly but underrated position coaches?
KQ- A weird game, but my first call is to my old friend Charles Kelly to be my CB/SPC/AHC, my second call is to the soon to be unemployed Jim Leonhard to be my DC/S coach, I'm keeping Jason Semore, Larry Knight and David Turner. Offensively, I'm calling the plays, I'm hiring some OC to be my puppet and I'm hiring some buddies to be my OL, WR and RB coaches. My OC can do TEs.
